Siri’s Will to Win

When I heard “split decision” I knew this was going to end badly. (Esther Lin/Showtime)

This thrilling and grueling all-action brawl was the highlight of the evening and it plainly stole the show…

“I thought I won the fight…I thought in the first couple of rounds we were kind of even, but then I took the fight afterwards. I was definitely looking for the championship. I threw more of the punches in this fight and I definitely won the fight. I dedicated so much of this fight, for them to take it away is not fair. I’m definitely ready for a third fight.”—Orlando Salido

“Salido, a former featherweight champion who owns victories over Juanma Lopez and Vasyl Lomachenko, was a whirlwind from the onset.”—Mike Copplinger

As soon as I heard the words “We have a split decision” I knew this was going to end badly. I looked over to my friend and said, “Oh no.” Prior to the decision being announced, the only question in my mind was by what margin did Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-3) beat Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-3) in what should be a contender for Fight of the Year.

Both men wailed away at each other non-stop and both men hit the canvas in round three as the fight lived up to its pre-match hype, but Siri’s volume of punches and crunching body work seemed to carry the day. Indeed, as Scott Christ of BLH said, “The prevailing thought across social media seemed to be that Salido had won the fight due to his incredible punch-rate, as he unleashed 1,037 punches over the 12-round battle.” Salido landed more—285 to 189—and also had a 249-169 edge in power landed.

The 12th and final round belonged to Siri as he showed a will to win that was spine tingling. This was the stuff of a warrior, a winner who moved forward incessantly, but shockingly and unfairly, at least in my view, it was not to be as the judges called it a draw on scores of 115-113 Martinez, 115-113 Salido, and 114-114. I had Salido winning 116-112.

Martinez, who won the first bout, retained his WBO lightweight title in the co-feature to Mayweather- Berto on Showtime PPV, but this thrilling and grueling all-action brawl was the highlight of the evening and it plainly stole the show from the “sparing session” that was the main event.

While a trilogy is in order, the wrong team will be dictating the terms.

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Agreed. IRISH is spot on yet again. I felt this going into the Jack vs. Groves fight… No way Jack was losing to Mr. Groves on this night (even if he were to). Not saying jack lost, he didnt. But i knew he wouldnt on this night,no matter “what”. Hint hint, and ouch.
Tho, this passed saturday proved to me boxing still isnt fixed… And those that say its like WWE can go away. I though in my minds eye, that the mayweather/berto fight was gonna turn out to be a fire-ffight, where Mayweather gets wobbled, and berto traded knockdowns. Just so floyd could say we all “missed the super-fight” if we didnt buy it. Just to “shock the world” and win in a brawl style. But everything proved out, and went per usual. Almost makin me smile, that all is still real haha. Thank goodness.

Case in point….Lisa Giampa doesn’t have it in her to score for a knockdown when a fighter is knocked down flat on his face…..think about that for Goddamned minute. She knows the score though…. you can bet your ass on that. She might have a vague notion that Martirosyan is an Armenian American fighter from Glendale but here’s what you can know for a dead bang certainty….that guy face down on the mat is Floyd’s guy and this is Floyd’s going away party.

“Hey, life ain’t fair and I learned that early and hard but every once in a while you would think that they could get it right.” (Siri Salido) Sad to say, they’re not going to get it right….they can’t get it right…. because they’re not right and they don’t have it in them to get it right

As for Floyd fighting again…. he went out disappointing most ALL of the boxing world once again. He will never be known for excitement nor as a crowd pleaser. His picking of Berto as opponent/sparring partner didn’t do his “farewell” & legacy much good. Floyd also left a rotten odor with the illegal IV/substance allegations so… In my opinion, his pride won’t allow him to go out this way. He’ll probably be back.

My card also had Siri ahead. Rocky is a nice humble kid that I’ve known since his amateur days and was a crowd pleaser even then. BUT.. being a nice humble kid OUTSIDE the ring doesn’t win fights INSIDE the ring. I had it 115-113 for Salido and I would welcome a 3rd fight. Martinez gets my props as well, he pleased the fans once again, the verdict wasn’t in his hands.

Martinez getting extra credit for being able to take a punch and body punches ignored by judges as per usual. Getting tired of affirmative action judges like Lisa Giampa and affirmative action Quarterbacks in the NFL too. NBA great Moses Malone gone at age 60….always liked the guy who had small hands by the freakish NBA standards….they had him doing exercises at one point to stretch them out.

I didn’t see this fight, but thanks for the breakdown especially the minute details. With you, it’s always special attention to details. I didn’t see the main event either, but it’s no surprise with a Mayweather decision.
Question: Does anyone think Mayweather will fight again?